About: Eurogroup
Big euro economies push for strong cryptocurrency rules
The finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain called on the European Commission to include “strong rules” in its upcoming cryptocurrency proposal, in particular for global digital tokens like Facebook’s Libra.
Revolving Doors: The case of Mário Centeno
The Portuguese Government, led by socialist Prime Minister, António Costa, has appointed the former Eurogroup President and Portuguese Finance Minister, Mário Centeno, as Governor of Portugal’s Central Bank. Never have the revolving doors of finance spun so fast, writes João Cotrim de Figueiredo.
Donohoe wins Eurogroup presidency
Ireland’s minister of Finance, Pascal Donohoe, will be the next Eurogroup chief, outgoing president Mario Centeno announced.
Election day: Calviño and Donohoe neck and neck in Eurogroup race
Eurozone finance ministers are split on whether to pick their Spanish colleague Nadia Calviño or Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe as the next Eurogroup president during a videoconference on Thursday (9 July), EU sources and diplomats told EURACTIV.com.
Calviño, Donohoe and Gramegna compete for Eurogroup helm
Ministers Nadia Calviño (Spain), Paschal Donohoe (Ireland) and Pierre Gramegna (Luxembourg) will compete for the Eurogroup Presidency. While Calviño could become the first woman to chair the body, her colleagues promised to become ‘bridge builders’ between the different positions.
Eurogroup race hits milestone with no official candidates yet
The deadline for eurozone finance ministers to put forward their candidacy to chair the Eurogroup ends on Thursday (25 June), with no official contenders yet, although Spain’s Nadia Calviño, Ireland’s Paschal Donohoe and Luxembourg’s Pierre Gramegna are seen as leading the race.
Centeno: Portugal today has a credible economic and budgetary policy
In his last interview as Portugal's finance minister, Mário Centeno, who is also the outgoing president of the Eurogroup, talked to the Portuguese broadcast RTP about his mandates, the relation with Prime Minister (PM) António Costa and the possibility of becoming the new governor of the Bank of Portugal.
Tweets of the Week: Eurogroup Head, Statues Down, Brexit Cherry Picking
Speculation about Eurogroup top post, across the EU racist statues are toast, and Brexit is back like an unwelcome ghost.
Spain’s Calvino boasts ‘key role’ in Eurogroup to support her candidacy
Spain’s minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño highlighted her “key role” in preparing the Eurogroup response to the COVID-19 crisis, as the eurozone finance ministers will pick a new president in early July.
Ex-Eurogroup boss: Nobody is so stupid to propose to ‘just go back under 3% deficit’
As one of the most influential Eurogroup figures during the previous crisis, Thomas Wieser chaired the preparatory meetings of eurozone finance ministers between 2011 and 2018. In an interview with EURACTIV, the American-Austrian economist described the EU’s fiscal rules as “bad practical economics”, in particular for handling a crisis such as the current one.
Mario Centeno quits Eurogroup post, Portuguese government
Portuguese Finance Minister Mário Centeno, the Eurogroup's president, has resigned from government, following a period of less than idyllic relations with Prime Minister António Costa, and will be replaced by state secretary for budget João Leão.
ESM corona-loans expected to be available from 15 May
The €240 billion in ‘cheap’ loans for countries affected by the coronavirus COVID-19 will be available as from 15 May, 15 days ahead of the expected date, European Stability Mechanism (ESM) chief, Klaus Regling, said on Friday (8 May).
EU finance ministers to pass on ECB ruling
The Eurogroup will discuss on Friday (8 May) the German Constitutional Court's controversial ruling on the European Central Bank's critical bond-buying programme but will not take a position, according to EU sources.
Reforms, investment and the EU Recovery Plan
The EU member states are finally discussing an ambitious European Recovery Plan and the good news is that they already have the right tool at hand, writes Dragoș Pîslaru.
Centeno: ‘The old books by which we governed are of no use in this period’
In an interview with the Portuguese newspaper Público, the President of the Eurogroup, Mário Centeno, shared some leads about the EU’s recovery plan. He believes that the new recovery plan should have its “own, appropriate and innovative funding mechanism”.
EU and COVID-19: Time to think outside the box
The Eurogroup’s decisions taken on 9 April were a necessary and overdue collective EU response, as well as a welcome but flawed and incomplete compromise. If European leaders are to save the EU economy when they meet on 23 April, they need to think outside the box, write Carlos Closa, George Papaconstantino, and Miguel Poiares Maduro.
Dombrovskis: ‘I could imagine containment costs covered by ESM loans’
Following the Eurogroup’s agreement on the economic response to the coronavirus, European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis on Friday (10 April) welcomed the €540 billion package in an exclusive interview with EURACTIV.com
Eurogroup agrees on €540 billion corona-package
The Eurogroup finally agreed on a €500 billion package to support member states, companies and workers in the coronavirus crisis, after The Netherlands and Italy overcame they differences. Leaders will discuss in the coming days the recovery plan and the possibility of ‘coronabonds’.
Italy PM warns virus puts EU project at stake
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte warned Thursday (9 April) that the European integration project was at risk if EU member states do not find an economic response to the coronavirus crisis.
Eurogroup fails to progress on economic response to pandemic
After a 16-hour teleconference that concluded on Wednesday morning (8 April), eurozone finance ministers failed to find an agreement on the economic package to tackle the economic impact of the coronavirus.
EU ministers to agree virus rescue plan, not ‘coronabonds’
EU countries are nearing an economic rescue plan for European countries worst hit by the coronavirus outbreak, sources said on Monday (6 April), but not at the level of ambition called for by Italy and Spain.
Von der Leyen: EU budget should be the Marshall plan we lay out together
The EU's next long-term budget should be a key instrument in the recovery plan to confront the huge economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday (2 April).
Eurogroup to discuss EU-wide unemployment reinsurance scheme
The European Commission is planning to present to EU finance ministers next week its pan-European unemployment reinsurance scheme proposal to support the most affected countries by the coronavirus.